Grain-door for cars.



No. 687,6l8. Patented Nov. 26, mm.

T. E. BBANSUN. GRAIN D008 FUR CARS.

A umin filed Apt. 5, 1901.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

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No. 687,6|8.- Patented Nov. 26, IQOI. T. E. BRANSON GRAIN DOOR FOR CARS.

(Application filed Apr. 5, 1901.)

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

"'A IEBrwnsaw v 4 4 r I W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TILGHMAN E. BRANSON, OF BELLEPLAINE, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- THIRD TO MARCUS L. HAWORTH, OF BELLEPLAINE, KANSAS.

GRAIN-DOOR FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,618, dated November 26, 1901.

' Application filed April 5, 1901. ,Serial No. 54,494- (No model.)

To Ml whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TILGHMAN E. BRANSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belleplaine, in the county of Sumner and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Grain-Door for Cars, of which the following is a specification. The presentinvention relates to grain-doors for railway-cars; and one of the prime objects thereof is to provide an improved door of this character which can be folded compactly out of the way when not'in use, so that it will not interfere with the use of the car for other purposes.

A further object isto provide novel means for insuring a tight joint between the door and the frame, so that all leakage and consequent waste will be prevented.

1 A still further object is to have the several elements secured in such a manner that they cannot be lost or misplaced. I The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification; but the construction may be changed, if do sired, provided such changes are within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation of the interior side of a freight-car, showing the improved grain-door applied to the doorway thereof and in operative position. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the improved grain-door in its inoperative position. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 8 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2.

Similar reference-numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

For the purpose of clearly illustrating the application and operation of the improved grain-door a portion of an ordinary railwayfreight car has been shown, the side of which is designated 5, said side having the usual doorway 6. One of the grain-doors is shown in connection therewith. This door is flexible and comprises a plurality of sections or panels 7, which are of suitable length to extend across the doorway and are pivotally connected by means of suitable hinges 8,

placed on their inner faces. The adjacent edges of the sections fit closely together when the sections are in upright position, so that there can be no leakage therebetween when the door is in operative position. A suitable handle 9 is secured to the inner side of the bottom section. Guide rods or tracks 10 are arranged at the opposite sides of the doorway and have their lower ends stepped in the bottom 11 of the carat points near to and outside of the ends of the door-sections. These rods extend upwardly near the inner face of the car and then curve over to a point near the center 'of the roof 12, to which their opposite, ends are secured by means of suitable brackets 12. The door is slidably mounted upon the guide-rods 10 by means of hooks or eyes 13, which are secured to the ends of the lower sections and surround said rods. The upper sections are entirely disconnected from the guide-rods.

By the above construction it will be seen that the door may be placed across the lower ,portion of the doorway, and in order to hold it tightly against the edges of the same fastening-bars 14 are provided the lower ends of which are arranged to be seated in sockets 15, located just inside the ends of the door.

Locking-cams 16 are pivotally connected to links 17, which are in turn pivotally fastened to the inner face of the car abve the door, and these links are adapted to embrace the upper ends of the bars 14, thus bringing the cams against the rear side of the posts. The cams have portions of their peripheries flat.- tened and are provided with operating-handles 18, so located that when said handles are moved downwardly the cams will be rotated until the flat portions of their peripheries bear against the bars, thus pressing the bars against all the sections of the door, and consequently clamping the door against the inner face of the car. At the same the cams are locked against movement. Rings 19 are secured to the free ends of the handles and are hooked over pins 20, arranged in the upper portion of the car to hold the cams and links out of the way when not in use.

The door when in inoperative position is moved to the upper ends of the guide-rods and the free sections are folded beneath the slidably-mounted sections. In order to hold the door in this position, a flexible holding, device 21, preferably in the form of a chain, is fastened at one end to the central portion of the car-roof and carries at its free end a hook 222, that is engaged in the handle 9 of the lower section. The holding device thus serves the double purpose of retaining the door and supporting the free sections. When the bars 14 are not in use, they are placed in keepers 23, arranged upon the inner side of the car, and chains or other flexible holding devices 24, secured, respectively, at their opposite ends to the bars and car, prevent the loss of said bars. V.

The manner of operating the door is as follows: Assumingit in inoperative position, to place it across the doorwayit is only necessary to unhook the holding-chain 21, and thus release the door, which can thereupon he slid down the guide-rods and across the lower part of the doorway, where it is locked by means of the bars, as above described. On the other hand, to remove it,the bars are firstdisplaced,

and the door can then he slid to its inoper-' ative position, where it is fastened by means of the chain. By this construction it will be seen that all the objects mentioned are accomplished. The door when in operative position is held tightly against the wall of the car, so that tight joints are obtained and leak- .age of the contents prevented. Furthermore, when in inoperative position it is completelyout of the way and will not interfere With the use of the car for the transportation of other commodities.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction, operation, and many advantages of the herein-described invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and it will be understood that various changes in the size, shape,

proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination with a car having a doorway, of a grain-door arranged to be placed across the doorway, and a looking-bar adapted to be placed transversely across the door, and having a detachable connection with the car.

2. The combination with a car, of a flexible door movably mounted upon the car and comprising a plurality of pivot-ally-connected sections, and a locking device separate from the door and'located transversely across the sections thereof, said locking device having a detachable connectionwith the car.

3. The combination with a car, of a flexible door slidably mounted on the car and adapted to be placed across the doorway thereof,a locking-bar arranged to be placed transversely of the car-door, and means for detachably securing the bar to the car clamping itagainst said door.

4. The combination with a car, of a flexible door slidably mounted on the car and adapted to be placed across the doorway thereof, a removable locking-bar arranged to be placed transversely of the door, and means engaging the opposite ends of the bar to clamp it against said door.

5. The combination with a car having sockets in its floor, of a flexible door slidably mounted on the car and adapted to be placed 7 across the doorway thereof, a pair of removable locking-bars arranged to be placed transversely of the door, said bars fitting in the sockets in the car-floor, links pivotally mounted on the interior face of the car and arranged to embrace the upper ends of the bars, and cams carried by the links, said cams being arranged to force the bars into engagement with the doors.

6. The combination with a car, of guiderails mounted on the car, a door comprising a plurality ,of hinged sections, a consecutive number of which are slidably secured to the rails, the remaining sections being free whereby the door may be folded when not in use, and movable means arranged to be placed transversely across the free sections to hold them in operative relation across the doorway of the car.

7. Thecombination with a car,"of guide rails mounted on the car, a door comprising a plurality of hinged sections, a consecutive series of which are slidably secured to the rails, the remaining sections being free whereby the door may be folded when not in use, and-removable means arranged to be placed transversely across the door and engage both the mounted and the free sections to hold them in operative relation across the doorway of the car. 7

8. The combination with a car having a doorway, of a pair of guide-rods located adjacent to the doorway, a door comprising a plurality of sections, means for slidably securing the lower sections upon the guide-rods, leaving the other sections free, whereby the door may be folded, removable bars adapted to be placed transversely of the door when the latter is in position across the doorway, means for holding the bars in position, and a flexible holding device arranged to fasten the door in folded position in the upper part of the car.

9. The combination with a car having a doorway, of a pair of guide-rods located adjacent to the doorway, a door comprising a plurality of sections, eyes carried by the lower sections of the door and slidably engaging the guide-rods, the remaining sections being free whereby the door may be folded, remov- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto ailixed my signature in IQ the presence of two witnesses.

{ TILGHMAN E. BRANSON.

\Vitnesses:

M. L. HAWORTH, LOTTIE E. GREEN. 

